California for a second

I’m in California, for a second. For a hot second. Not husband, no dogs, no stocked kitchen (though I seemed to have stocked my the fridge where I’m staying pretty well), no bed that I’m used to with blue walls to wake up to. But a purpose — see new things, eat new things, work in new places, learn new things. It will be interesting. I’m in California, for a second.

I’ve learned a few things

1. Never say never — I discovered the wonders of a selfie stick that my husband decided to give me as a gag gift. That’s right. I’m a convert. This realization has shaken me to my core — who am I? What do I stand for now? Selfie sticks apparently.

My very first self-stick picture. It happened. I’m a selfie sticker.

2. Just because jay walking is totally normal and even expected in one part of the country, does not mean this holds true in another part of the country. People will stare at you, honk at you even.

The view from a mountain.

3. Similarly weather is not uniform. Before I left AZ, I thought all summers were dry and overbearingly hot. In MA, summers were overbearingly hot and muggy. The same was true of TX. In NorCal apparently summer takes place in what I mistakenly thought of as “fall.” Getting off a plane in a pea coat, scarf, and two layers of shirts — which was weather appropriate on the East Coast — caused a bit of a…sweat issue on the West Coast.

That’s the sun. That’s the beach. That’s the ocean.

4. Running can be fun. Running along the ocean is funner.

A pause in my morning run.

5. There is no inherent rudeness to Boston people / East Coast people in general. Brusqueness in action does not equate rudeness. There are rude people everywhere — take a rude person from Manhattan and stick them in sunny CA, they’ll probably be rude here. On a more positive note, there are kind and happy and helpful people everywhere. Thank you two ladies who helped me figure out the bus system. You were nice, and it made my day easier.

A beach! A puppy!

6. Pumpkin cognac cheesecake may sound weird, but you should always get it. Because the weirder something sounds, the better it (usually) tastes. I was not wrong on this front. It is currently in my belly and I. regret. nothing.